Advertising Media - Advantages & Disadvantages of each

Media Mix

A combination of print, broadcast, online, and other media used for an advertising campaign.

Newspapers

Advantages: - credibility - timeliness - good local market coverage - broad acceptability and high believability Limitations: - short life - poor reproduction quality - poor graphic quality

Magazines

Advantages: - high geographic and demographic selectivity - credibility and prestige - high-quality reproduction - long life and good pass-along readership Limitations: - long ad purchase lead time - high cost - no guarantee of position

Television

Advantages: - broad reach - appealing to senses of sight and sound - high attention Limitations: - high cost for production - less audience selectability - high commercial clutter - vulnerability to being skipped or muted

Radio

Advantages: - low cost - high frequency - high geographic and demographic sensitivity Disadvantages: - no visual possibilities - short life for message - low level of engagement - high commercial clutter

Product placement (The paid display or use of products in television shows, movies, and video games)

Advantages: Offers a way to get around viewers' advertising filters and chance for high visibility Disadvantages: Limited choice of vehicles; unpredictable; effectiveness is linked to the popularity of the programming; risk of overuse could reduce effectiveness over time

Fixed Web

Advantages: Rich media options and interactivity can make ads more compelling and more effective; changes and additions can be made quickly and easily in most cases; webpages can provide an almost unlimited amount of information. Disadvantages: Extreme degree of audience fragmentation (millions of websites); increasing clutter (such as pop-up ads); technical glitches can interrupt ad display

Mobile Web

Advantages: highly portable; constant, "always-on" presence (most people have their phones with them much of the time); opportunity for location-based advertising; possibilities for narrow targeting. Disadvantages: Many users won't tolerate advertising intrusions via mobile phone; small screen size limits display possibilities.

Advertising Media

Choosing advertising media, or channels of communication can be as important as selecting the type of advertising and the advertising appeal. Advertising media includes communication channels, such as newspapers, radio, television, and the World Wide Web.

Creating the Media Mix

To create the media mix, advertising experts factor in the characteristics of the target audience, the types of media that will reach the largest audience in the most cost-effective way, and the strengths and weaknesses of the various media as they relate to the product and its marketing message.